Windsock II powering to windward. Teak is the statement here.
Designers Sparkman & Stephens said it themselves about Windsock II: “Teak is definitely the theme of this sailing yacht.” America’s design legends were not lying. This 52-foot Spirit-of-Tradition stalwart is a veritable wedding cake of this lavish tropical hardwood.
Layer upon layer of teak is found under foot, in the cockpit and throughout the boat. There’s high-gloss, quarter-sawn passages of the stuff in the cockpit coamings and furniture. More muted finishes of the wood are found in the side decks, afterdeck, and the foredeck. Heck, every surface we could see above the sheer is sheathed with either elegantly bare or high-gloss expanses of teak.
It all makes for kind of umber night-sky.
Somewhere there is probably a showing fastener or bung hole that indicates how all that teak got in all those places. But none are in the photos we are seeing. The folks at Morris Yachts went out of their way to build Windsock II to redefine what “finish work” means. This boat is indeed tight!
But beneath the riot of elegantly cut-up hardwoods, is a seriously high-tech modern classic with some remarkable engineering and lovely design solutions. Hull and deck are vacuum infused, sometimes with e-glass, sometimes with balsa cores. There are clever Decolite panels and carbon stringers where needed. But also there’s standard, and sensible, marine grade plywood used where it made sense.
And we liked all the Spirit-of-Tradition modern sail handling efficiencies. She has an all-carbon boom that furls the main. The sails are the simple modern wardrobe of main, jib and asymmetrical headsail. We like the statement 80-foot spar and 1,400 square feet of sail area. Windsock II is a smooth performer in most conditions.
The overall effect is a clean Lexus-like luxury, that features all-around performance, classic lines and just enough hint of modernity to make a statement at the mooring.
As of mid 2018, Windsock II is for sale. Making it a reasonably good option for testing the Spirit-of-Tradition waters.
Specs:
Builder: Morris Yachts
Designer: Sparkman & Stephens
Flag of Registry: United States
Keel: Bulb
Hull Shape: Monohull
Dimensions:
LOA: 52 ft 11 in
Beam: 14 ft 0 in
LWL: 38 ft 2 in
Maximum Draft: 6 ft 8 in/Air Draft: 80 feet.
Displacement: 34,064 lbs Half Load/Sail Area: 1,414 square feet.
Ballast: 11391 lbs
Bridge Clearance: 81 ft 0 in
